Is Secret Ballot in the Workplace a Thing of the Past?

Secret ballots in elections are an underlying principle of democracy. That's why you just have to scratch your head when you see a bill to eliminate private ballots in union elections titled, "Employee Free Choice Act." The AFL-CIO gave it that name on the claim that it will "restore workers' freedom to choose for themselves…"

But the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) — to which NEMA is a proud member — isn't buying that claim. As the CDW notes in its fact sheet, the bill would strip American workers of the right to decide in private whether they want to unionize, and replace it with a system where workers are asked to sign a card in public. Think there's an element of intimidation built into this system?

CDW has launched a series of ads warning the public of this new threat to worker rights. See the original ad here.